Cereal Food Processors, Inc. - Executive Summary |
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Flour mills treat flours with chlorine gas to enhance performance in the production of certain baked products such as cakes and tortillas. Mills also chlorinate "tempering water" to reduce amounts of bacteria adhering to surfaces of wheat kernels. Both processes have been employed in the industry for generations; subsequently, equipment and operational techniques have evolved that ensure the process is carried out with very little risk to either employees or the public, in spite of the required storage of liquid chlorine. Both processes draw chlorine gas from ton cylinders in the storage room by generating a vacuum at the point of application which opens a diaphram valve at the discharge end of a connection manifold in the storage room, resulting in the majority of process piping being under vacuum. In the event of a failure of any of the application equipment, the vacuum is lost and chlorine gas flow stops. Electrical interlocking of application equipment ensures that all process es function properly or gas is not allowed to leave the manifold. In addition, electronic sensors, located in areas adjacent to the point of application and the storage room sound an alarm and shut down the system, should chlorine be observed in the atmosphere. In case of other process equipment malfunction, system interlocks and sensors can be overridden to permit the continued application of chlorine to flours not affected by the malfunction. Operators are trained and monitored by management to operate thusly only in case of extreme necessity. During the receiving of full cylinders and the loading of used cylinders, it is remotely possible that cylinder damage could initiate a leak, since they are loaded and unloaded by use of a forklift. In that event, a plan is in place for employment of a readily available cylinder emergency repair kit by personnel who are trained in such procedures. |